Somewhere Never Have I Traveled
by Audrey Layne
Summary: When they met she was bloodied and cold.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled  
Author: Audrey Layne  
Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.  
Summary: When they met...  
Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

_These still and quiet streets  
__Speak truths that unwilling ears__  
Have yet to hear__  
Where our city's bones__  
Are concrete and steel__  
And its soul the lights that flicker__  
Like fireflies  
It's essence the lifeblood  
Of our pale and foreign moons  
these paths  
This place where I have never traveled  
Where the ground is hollow  
And I have touched the sky_

When they met, she was barely fourteen, covered in blood and still mussed from being put into a cold sleep. Obi Wan had been walking beside Qui Gon, both lost in deep conversation from their recent mission to Enturi Prime when he saw her--the tell tale silver shining across her forehead had him pausing in the corridor and when Qui Gon turned a curious brow to his Padawan he could not stop the slight smile spreading across his mouth.

"Master--she was wearing--"

"She was indeed Padawan."

"I had not been aware they had been put it into use--they were only sketches, preliminary ideas."

"The Council thought they were considerably more than just preliminary ideas Padawan."

Obi Wan frowned slightly but nodded , changing blue green eyes catching one last look at the girl, and her eyes flashed to meet his and her mouth tilted into a strange almost smile.

Obi Wan flushed and turned back to Qui Gon, "I hope it works all right for her Master."

Qui Gon's knowing smile said everything, but he cupped Obi Wan's shoulder and led him down the corridor.

It should have been easy to forget her; the Temple took refugees from other planets and temples all of the time. He did not understand why then, her mouth kept haunting him.

It was very distracting and he threw himself into his studies with more fervor than even Qui Gon anticipated.

---

Qui Gon relaxed into the chaise in Adi's quarters, ignoring the sibilant hiss of a door closing tightly, or the strange sensation of another consciousness sliding over his own (despite previous experience with empath and force links it was still disconcerting when it was an unknown presence). The wall thrown up so violently around the girl's room had him flinching slightly.

Adi Gallia chuckled as she chose that moment to enter the living space, setting a tray gracefully on the small table in front of the lounge, "Give her time Qui Gon, she has had a very difficult time of it the past three years."

Qui Gon nodded, lips tilting in a frown, "I believe that to be an understatement old friend--she watched her Master die, and with him the only control reigning in her abilities."

Adi shifted, pouring tea for the two of them, "Quetz Et'el was a good man, but Nico was not the type of woman cut out for off world missions involving danger. Her abilities hinder her in that respect."

Qui Gon nodded, "I imagine it was very painful for her, especially when visiting the Enturi system."

Adi nodded in response before saying, "It's actually rather tragic--the entire thing could have been avoided if they had kept the Jedi apprised of cultural things like the wearing of metal."

And it was true, the death of a Jedi master put down to a simple mistake as the strange silver bracer that wrapped around the young woman's head.

From the bedroom, both Jedi could hear the muffled sound of crying.

"What will be done with her?" Qui Gon's eyes were dark, effusive and clearly concerned.

The dark skinned woman smiled a little sadly, "Yoda has asked me to take her as my apprentice."

Qui Gon's eyes widened, "Surely not--you are a council member...that is...exceedingly rare is it not?"

Adi nodded, "Nico is in need of someone capable of helping her with..." A vague hand gesture, "This and is not cut out for dangerous field work. Yoda should have declined Quetz Et'el's request for her as an apprentice but no one could have foreseen this happening."

"So she will be trained in diplomacy rather than sabre skills?" Qui Gon's brow arched elegantly.

Adi smirked, "Qui Gon, I could best you at sabers when we were twelve, I can best you now."

The response was a low laugh and a touch to her face, "Adi--you could try."

---

As it turned out, dealing with an empath such as Nico was considerably more difficult than even the Jedi were equipped to deal with, Nico's species were almost direct descendant of old Earth Proper, which meant that despite literally generations of interbreeding and outer breeding, genetic mutations still ran rampant through her body.

It was common in the onset of puberty for her species to undergo a series of changes at the molecular level (a cause for which much study had been devoted in an attempt to cure) the survival rates were a great deal higher thanks to the Jedi's help but when in conjunction to Force Sensitivity the Immunites went through 'The Change' it tended to wreak havoc on all within range.

---

The second time Obi Wan ever came into contact with Nico was nearly a year and a half later, and it was purely coincidence and very good timing that had four upper level initiates, seven Padawan's and two worried Knight's asking for his help.

No one wanted to send for Adi Gallia and face the council woman's wrath.

He found himself outside a small storage cupboard in the lowest levels of the temple, the door had been jammed shut, and the trembles running rampant over his mind told him, quite clearly that the young woman locked inside was in a state of extreme mental distress.

He frowned and three of the Padawan's and the youngest knight (all of whom were currently facing him) shrank, thoroughly cowed.

"What happened?"

The knight in question, was tall, broad shouldered with deep green skin and lekku that trailed to mid back, "It was a game Padawan Kenobi--we...well we didn't mean to frighten her so--"

Obi Wan's frown became a scowl, "A game?" His eyes narrowed and he drew in a deep breath to center himself, "Please tell me you did not do what I think you did."

The knight cleared his throat, "If by that do you mean did we sort of...impersonate several flesh eaters and flicker the lights as she was leaving the archive then uhm...yes...we did."

Obi Wan clenched his fists, "Fetch My master and Councilwoman Adi Gallia. Immediately."

The initiates fled. Escape being the better part of valor, and Obi Wan turned to the door and placed a hand to the icy metal.

He reached out through the Force and was met with a wall of anguish, and terror so tangible it left him breathless and in a cold sweat. His eyes slipped closed and he reached out again, meeting terror with calm, and anguish with overwhelming comfort.

He had not spent almost a year on Melida/Daan watching young men and women die without learning a few tricks.

He did not know how long he sat there, hand to the door, but he assumed it must have been quite some time because Qui Gon's hand was curled protectively over the back of his neck, a steady wall of support and Adi, her Force touch surprisingly sweetly tempered and feminine, curling around his own.

The door hissed open and a flurry of deep russet curls and dark brown robes flung themselves at Adi, the low pitch of a sob escaping before Adi was curling her arms around the young woman.

She stood, picking up Nico easily, before turning to Qui Gon, "You have full disclosure to discipline these younglings Master Jinn." Before her eyes were on Obi Wan, "Padawan Kenobi, if you would please assist me, I would be most appreciative."

---

Part of the problem he assumed, with Nico, was that she was so mysterious; her people were what amounted to space gypsies. They did not settle on any single planet, rather they traveled in hoards across the galaxy, leaving behind myths, legends and quite a few broken hearts.

Nico was only the seventh documented Immunite born with Force ability to survive adolescence. And she was only hanging on by the skin of her teeth and the brace of metal curling like a clawed hand, rude and roughshod around her head.

Not for the first time, was Obi Wan glad he had been so keenly interested in that class when he was fourteen. He doubted the young woman would have survived her master's death without it. As it was, he had already gone over all the schematics and data involving the head piece and was designing a new model to replace the older one.

He wondered if he could implement the power of force crystals into the power matrix. Perhaps that would help her.

---

Adi Gallia's chambers were impersonal, which was somewhat surprising to Obi Wan given the woman's placement on the council. He had expected...well he had expected more at least. It was not to say her chambers were cold or sterile, decorated with all Temple furnishings, but it gave off the feel that, while it was 'cozy' she did not spend time there.

Nico's touch was on everything, cold and somewhat tentative.

Adi placed the young woman on the lounge and Obi Wan immediately took Adi's place in comforting the young woman, arms going around her waist, and the cold metal of the bracer around her head met the skin of his neck, the muscles tightened then loosened and he pulled her more securely into his lap.

She was only fifteen, and she felt impossibly young.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

Obi Wan did not find it strange that in spite of his most recent meeting with Nico Ca'Hall, he still did not have a clear picture of what she looked like.

Just the strangest not smile quirk of her mouth and russet colored curls that smelled faintly of something Qui Gon identified as ginger and myrrh. (He found himself logging onto the holonet to find out what ginger was, and then venturing to the planet levels of Coruscant to discover why it was her hair smelled that way), it was infuriating, and even worse since he had last seen her, Adi had twisted long pieces of that deep hair into a new Padawan's braid, twisting around the former one with black ribbon of morning, and white ribbon of chastity.

The ribbon taunted him.

---

When he saw Bant later that afternoon the Mon Calamari took one look at him, sat him down and fetched him a glass of tea before calling Garen Muln to her shared quarters.

Garen dropped onto the lounge beside Obi Wan and grinned at his tawny haired friend, "I heard what happened...I don't know whether to be disturbed that a group of Jedi would play a prank like that...or disturbed that you were the one they called."

Bant clucked at him disapprovingly and placed the glass of steaming liquid in Obi Wan's hand, "Obviously the former Garen, I can't believe they'd do something like that to an empath, especially one who's gone through what she has. I'm amazed she didn't accidentally destroy their minds."

Obi Wan garbled something out and glanced up, "You guys...she cried herself hoarse, we had..." His voice cracked slightly, "We had to restrain her to keep her from scratching her eyes out."

Bant's eyes went wide, a puff of mist spraying from the collar around her clavicles, Garen let out a low whistle, and "I heard Council woman Gallia was finally making progress with her too...apparently she's really smart but all the instructors are worried she's too unstable to be in any classes. It really isn't any wonder the younglings pulled a prank like this. The girl *is* practically a myth."

Obi Wan nodded, "I spent almost twelve hours with her and I don't even know what she really looks like."

Bant blinked, "Well that can't be right Obi--you're the most observant person I know."

Garen snorted, "Not unless she didn't want to be noticed Bant--she *is* an empath. She can influence things like that."

Bant gasped, "A Jedi would never resort to such things unless it was required!"

Obi Wan listened to them banter; he knew Bant was right of course, as was Garen. But Qui Gon had done a very good job of training him to know when he was being influenced, and the girl had done nothing more than throw up some of the tightest barriers he'd ever walked into.

"I think it was just she's very good at hiding herself. Wasn't her Master Quetz Et'el?"

Bant and Garen both paused mid-argument.

Garen nodded his agreement, "Yeah I think so--he was the one who got..." His voice trailed off and all three glanced down for a moment.

Bant let out a soft, "I hope your Master has them cleaning the sewers for the next four cycles Obi...no one should have to relive what they made her relive, regardless of their intentions or not."

Obi Wan nodded and nearly spilled his tea when Garen jumped, exclaiming triumphantly, "I have an idea!"

---

'That's how this entire thing started,' he realized, staring across the table at what had to be the strangest looking scarring he'd ever witnessed.

They were, the four of them in the mess hall, eating breakfast. Garen had decided they would show the temple that Nico was very much so a real person, just painfully shy.

The scarring seemed to slide over the left half of her face, disappearing beneath the high collar of her tunic. It wasn't ugly just...really disconcerting. She probably made sure to hide it for other people's sakes rather than her own.

Adi had explained that it had happened long before Nico could remember, some sort of accident from before the Jedi had taken her.

The young woman kept it hidden for other's comfort, and he had no doubt it was also in part, self-preservation. When you could literally read a person's thoughts and emotions without actively trying, he was sure it got to not only be very exhausting, but heart breaking as well.

He wondered what it felt like, and caught her staring at him with equal curiosity, her eyebrows twisted in some mockery of thought, though her eyes twinkled somewhat amused.

That not-quite-smile was back on her face, and she turned to respond to something Bant was saying.

He knew he hadn't been broadcasting-- Before Adi would let them see Nico again she had put them through nearly twenty hours of shielding classes so Nico wouldn't be subjected to their every thought and emotion.

His thoughts must have shown on his face, and he schooled his features back into careful neutrality.

---

The problem he thought was that Nico wasn't classically pretty. She was very different from Siri--who had claimed his heart and body with a ravenous hunger that bordered on obsessive for nearly two years before like a flame, their ardor simply snuffed out.

Siri was supernova bright, passionate, fiery, and despite the analogy, so very good it was like spending a day in the Peace Gardens. He always left Siri's company feeling as though he'd been scrubbed raw and clean by the Living Force itself.

And yet, where Siri had been bright, Nico seemed to be just as opposite, the young woman rarely smiled, pewter colored eyes were always distant, as if her thoughts collected her entire being and froze her that way. She emanated such presence it was difficult not to notice her, despite her best efforts to remain unobtrusive (and this, Obi Wan had no doubt, was why she was simply not cut-out for dangerous off world missions, the woman had all the stealth of a Rancor in a glass shop).

They were polar opposites really, Nico commanded a subtle kind of attention, her voice was soft, and strangely accented, even to Obi Wan's ears, her hair such a deep red brown it was almost black in artificial light. It lit up like burnished, aged copper in the light of the Coruscant sun, and hung to almost the middle of her back in waves of riotous, rebellious curls.

He had over heard her confessing, in a distractingly amused tone that she had all but begged Adi to cut it all off, only to be met with the stern disproval of a wall.

Bant had laughed so hard the Mon Calamari had almost fainted from lack of oxygen.

And that was another point, Siri was blunt, callous and often times offensive. She had never outgrown her brashness and Tahl was constantly correcting the blonds' lack of diplomacy skills, but Obi Wan had been first hand witness to Nico's ability to interject herself into heated debates and calm both sides without exerting her will over them at all.

That was not the sort of charisma or calmness one wanted in the wrong hands.

And she was funny, in a twisted, tongue in cheek, caught him off guard every single time sort of way. The four of them (He, Garen, Bant and Nico) had spent several hours exploring one of the moons around Coruscant, an agricultural star really. And it had taken the three of them nearly two hours to realize that Nico had been making lewd comments about the vegetation for most of the day.

When Bant confronted her about it, the gray eyed woman had blinked her eyes enormously at Bant and cast a devastating smile that had left even Bant reeling.

If Siri was a raging inferno, then Nico was a banked blaze, subtle and long-lasting.

---

It really would not have been such a big deal, except it seemed that Nico had an absurd way of ignoring virtually everything going on around her. He supposed this was why she had seemed so startled when, around what he assumed was her sixteenth birthing year the first Padawan's and Knights began approaching her.

He was fairly sure she had come from a temple on Possil Massa, which meant she should have been apprised of things like The Rite of First Refusal, but the way her skin colored such an inelegant red, and her eyes going so large she could have given a cat a run for its money had Garen in stitches, Bant patting her arm, and Obi Wan simultaneously furious at her lack of education, and intrigued by her reaction.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

He woke with a start several months later, bruised, and exhausted and aching in places that really had no right to be aching. He scrubbed a hand across his face and then jerked when he realized someone was sitting on the edge of his bed waiting for him to wake up.

He let out slight noise and the figure morphed into a grinning Nico, "Sh--get up and put on some civilian clothes okay?"

Obi-Wan frowned, shaking his head, but he rose and did as asked, ignoring the heavy feel of her eyes on him as he stripped, his torso and back were a mottling of bluish purple bruises and carefully bandaged scrapes and cuts. He shrugged into a snug black shirt, long sleeved and made of a thick almost sweater-like material.

The sleep pants he wore were pushed down his hips and he heard Nico let in a sharp breath, but only faintly. Thick cloth trousers were belted around his hips and when he had finished pushing his feet into boots Nico was at the door, bouncing excitedly and gesturing almost wildly, "You have to be quiet as we go out okay?"

Obi-Wan nodded, arching an eyebrow, not that Qui Gon would be upset at him for sneaking out, they had long ago discussed curfews and things like leaving early, and Qui Gon had told him he could come and go as he pleased so long as he was available when he was needed. He clipped his communicator to his belt and glanced at his 'saber, motioning at it, Nico shrugged and murmured, "If you think you'll need it."

The saber went onto his belt as well, before he shrugged into a long dark robe, not distinctly 'Jedi-like' but close enough that Obi-Wan didn't feel weird.

Nico rolled her eyes, before turning and slinking from his quarters, they moved through the sitting room and then out into the corridor, Nico breathed a long breath and reached out and caught Obi-Wan's hand, her fingers felt strange and he glanced down and realized there was a strange scarred webbing crawling across the flesh of her hand, two fingers seemed to be missing at the second joint.

He twined his fingers with hers and let himself be led through and out of the temple, a speeder was waiting for them, obviously Nico had had this whole morning planned, Coruscant's sun had yet to rise and the three moons tilting across the sky filtered enough light down that he could see easily. She pulled him into the vehicle and grinned at the driver, mumbling something in Bothan, the driver nodded and offered a grimace like smile in return before the speeder rose into the air and took off.

Nico settled back, still holding his hand before saying, "I discovered this place when I first came to Coruscant...Adi had a lot of trouble getting me to sleep and Jedi suggestions don't work on me because of the bracer on my head." Obi-Wan already knew about that of course, he'd designed the thing, but he nodded anyways.

Nico leaned against his shoulder comfortably, "I was wandering around the lower levels about four months after I got here when I found it--it's really amazing. It's usually pretty busy but Leth (she's the proprietress) made time for me. I guess she knew I was a Padawan before I ever said anything. I think she's a semi talented force adept."

The speeder lowered to a dock on one of the lowest levels, they were in the industrial zone of Coruscant, but Nico was already paying the driver and pulling Obi-Wan out of the vehicle before he could really get a good look around.

He frowned, "Do you ever sleep?"

Nico paused at an elevator, she shrugged, and "Not really...I get about an hour and a half, two hours if I'm lucky most nights. Otherwise I meditate or practice my kata." She smiled crookedly, "Adi finally gave up making me keep pace with everyone else and pretty much lets me go at my own speed, I roam around the planet whenever she lets me, so long as I'm back at the temple by first meeting she doesn't mind it."

The elevator lifted up, rising and rising until Obi-Wan was sure they had left lower atmo, the walls of the lift were made of sturdy, flickering plasma and he could see out across the expansive city skyline. He stared.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Her voice pulled him from his reverie and he nodded.

The elevator jerked to a halt, and as the doors slid open behind them he was overcome by the soft hush of people talking. The building they entered seemed to be rotating, and for a moment Obi-Wan paused, settling and catching the soft push and pull of the Force to reacquaint himself with his center of balance, Nico was already moving steadily across the floor to a female Drall and greeting her easily. Obi-Wan stared.

Several moments later and both the Drall and Nico had moved to him and he found himself seated at a table along one curved plasma wall of the structure, far above the Coruscant skyline, the sky equal parts the gun metal grey of the air, and the deep velvet of outer space. He could see the three moons quite clearly and on the opposite horizon, slowly spinning towards them, was the sun.

Nico smiled proudly, "It's called Cafe Sol--it's really old, been around since before the second rebuilding. It's right on the middle line of the planet and rotates so you can watch the sun and the moons as they rise and set, though once the sun comes up you mostly only notice it."

Obi-Wan nodded, changing green blue eyes lowering to the table where two glasses of juice had been set before them, Nico laughed, "Oh-don't worry Leth never gives out menus, she pretty much serves anything she wants; but nobody argues with her about it, the food is fantastic."

Obi-Wan nodded again, he was beginning to feel like an automaton, all nodding and smiling slightly. He took a sip from the glass and smiled wider, "So you had to get me up before sunrise just to take me to breakfast?"

Nico blushed darkly, her own glass halfway to her mouth, "Well...yes I guess. It was just really very suddenly important that I do this." She shrugged, "I usually go with gut feelings."

Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow, "You are very in tune with the Living Force...your abilities aside it would only make sense then that your intuition be guided by the Will o-"

He was interrupted by Nico laughing and shaking her head, "You're very serious Padawan Kenobi." Overly formal despite her casual attitude and Nico was grinning playfully at him, pewter colored eyes sparkling in a way he had never actually seen before.

"You're in a good mood...what's the occasion?"

Her grinned slipped, "You're always looking at me, and sometimes...when you're not blocking I can feel you thinking about me. It's...its very intense." She stumbled over the sentence, features schooled into a mask of neutrality and Obi-Wan felt his eyes go slightly wide, he was very good at shielding so she must mean when he was asleep, or near to sleep.

He looked down as a plate of something was set on the table and the sweet aroma drifted up into his nose. He swallowed and opted to try a bite before responding to the young woman across from him.

"You intrigue me. When we first met you were covered in blood and you looked terrified, but even with so much chaos inside of you... you glowed brightly. Like a light piercing the darkness, it was so strange. As youngling we are trained to not be ruled by our emotions and yet there you were a direct contradiction of ever edict I had ever learned. But worse, despite all of that you...you smiled at me." He glanced up, strange eyes darkening to an almost blue grey, "Your smile haunts my sleep."

Whatever answer Nico had been expecting, that was not it, her cheeks pinkened and she focused intently upon the food laid out before her, an indeterminate noise escaping her throat before almost meekly, "You left an imprint on me...when I first arrived at the temple. The bracer was malfunctioning and it was easier to manipulate me....that practical joke and you-you held me for hours. Stoic in spite of the fact that I virtually invaded your mind. You were so....gentle." She seemed amused by this.

"It didn't make sense." Her eyes came up to peer into his evenly.

He nodded, "It still doesn't make sense." He felt the gentle fingers of a force touch sliding over the shields around his mind and he let his eyes close partially, opening and returning the gesture. She was a fortress and he realized it must be hard for her to let down her shields for even this amount of intimacy, she drew back from him after a moment, walls re-erecting themselves and pewter eyes darkened stonily.

Nico nodded as Obi-Wan stood, "Thank you for this."

She did not look up as he walked away.

---

Whatever Nico had seen when she'd touched his mind had clearly spooked her, she elected to go on a mission with a junior Knight, leaving Coruscant behind as they trailed into upper atmo and then out of sight into the deep black of space.


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

Trieron was simply put, an inhospitable planet, filled with icy cold water and huge regions of thick snow. What masses of rock that did surface from the vast ocean, were filled with small communities. Satellites and space ports orbited the planet, helping to support its people and what little agriculture it could maintain.

Mostly it was a research planet, with a popular export of massive amphibious creatures that produced a type of oil used popularly in pod racers.

Given its location in the Veron System which was Mid-Rim it was a prime place for research. One of the many small continents on Trieron was inhabited by a race of bipedal humanoids, covered in thick, soft, sable colored fur. One of the original species left on the planet from before an atmospheric cataclysm that altered the planets environment. (Much like Hoth and Rhen Varr).

This race looked after much of the research, but for three months out of the year went into a deep sleep cycle to recover, for these three months Jedi were sent to the planet to watch over the sleeping Trieronites and await the day they awoke. It was a simple mission.

As their ship slid into atmosphere Nico peered out the view screen at the planet and grimaced, "It does not appear to be a very hospitable planet."

Her partner, a Junior Knight by the name of Neroon K'Tar (Kit) nodded and smiled, "We're only here for three months so we'll be snowed in for most of it. Don't worry Padawan Ca'hal, I don't think you'll need to worry about your abilities here, think of it like a vacation. Time to relax from temple politic and all that." Kit grinned brightly at the other young woman; she didn't understand how Nico could stand to stay in the temple cities all day.

Nico frowned, "I enjoy learning from Master Gallia, and I do not mind politics, I'm rather adept at diplomacy." Came the smooth response and Kit snorted.

"Nico--you really need to loosen up."

Nico harrumphed and crossed her arms, responding primly, "I loosen up plenty when the situation calls for being....loose." She flushed brilliantly as she realized just how skewed that sentence sounded.

Kit let her laughter echo in the cockpit of the ship, shaking her head as they landed gracefully on the snow covered landing pad, "At the risk of my brain, I'm just gonna let that slide friend."

Nico nodded and stood from her seat, "The high councilor Menph will be meeting us won't he?"

Kit nodded and Nico turned and strode out of the cockpit and down the ramp onto the landing pad, the icy winds whipping her robes about her figure, she looked completely at ease in the frigid weather of Trieron.

---

Obi-Wan slumped down to the floor of the training room, the buzz of his lightsaber a steady comfort, he peered across the practice pad at Garen, his friend grinned easily and swung his weapon in an easy arc.

Sweat gleamed across both their bodies, waiting. Muscles shifting before in identical movements they dashed toward one another, saber's swinging high through the air, bodies twisting sinuously. The steady rush-burn and electric fizz of the saber's clashing the only noise in the room beyond their heavy breathing.

Garen grinned crookedly, "She went to Trieron? Why?" The question was amused if incredulous.

He twisted away and lunged at Obi-Wan, the other youth twisting back, body arching in a flip. He landed steadily and blocked Garen's next thrust, "I don't know. I think I frightened her. It's extremely aggravating; she's like an ice wall. I have no idea how to act around her!" His agitated statement was emphasized as he flipped over Garen's had and brought the tip of his saber buzzing over the back of the others' neck.

Garen yelped and clapped a hand to his neck, still grinning, "Maybe she doesn't know how to act around you either Obi--I mean, she's supposed to be an empath, maybe you weren't as good at shielding as you thought you were and she caught you thinking naughty thoughts." He wiggled his eyebrows lasciviously and lunged again.

Obi-Wan took the defense, parrying and blocking blow after blow as Garen came after him, cornered finally Garen nicked his collarbone and they moved once again to the middle of the room.

Obi-Wan shrugged, "I don't have...*naughty* thoughts Garen, that's ridiculous. I might think more on her than is generally normal, but it's always centered on her *mouth*!" He dropped to the floor and swung out with one leg, flooring Garen.

The other humanoid burst into laughter, switching off his saber and peering up at Obi-Wan, "Her mouth? This I gotta hear."

Obi-Wan dropped to sit on the padded floor, his own lightsaber buzzing off, "It's disconcerting. It's like...I--her mouth haunts my sleep."

Garen pushed up onto his elbows and blinked, "Please tell me you didn't actually say that."

Obi-Wan scowled, "What's wrong with saying it?"

"It sounds kind of...well creepy."

"How?!"

"If I told you your mouth haunted my sleep you'd be pretty creeped out."

"Well...yes but only because you're my friend."

"Same deal with her, I mean, you saw how she got at holiday? She pretty much hid out the entire day in her quarters and when she was approached she turned that shade of--"

"Of purple yes, I know. She's strangely hesitant about sex isn't she?"

Garen nodded and Obi-Wan scrubbed a hand over his face, "What am I going to do?"

Garen sat up the rest of the way, "I don't know Obi...I guess you could send her a message? Or something. I mean, you didn't do anything else that might have freaked her out or upset her did you?"

"I keep saying I didn't do anything, she woke me up, took me to this really nice restaurant...Cafe Sol or something-"

"She took you to Cafe Sol?! How did she get in? Only Jedi masters and people who need a refuge ever get in there! The proprietress Leth is really picky about her clientele."

Obi-Wan blinked, "Well I didn't know that!"

"Oh man..."

"Anyways...we...touched minds and I thought she was like a fortress and she drew back really abruptly and said thank you. I thought I was being dismissed so I left."

"You left."

"Yes! I left!"

"Obi, Obi, Obi--you have no idea how to handle girls do you?"

Obi-Wan scowled, "I know how to handle girls Garen."

"Not in bed my friend, in relationships. Did it even occur to you that touching minds like that she would have seen your reference to her fortress likeness?"

"Oh..."

"Yes, see the problem."

Obi-Wan swore loudly.

---

Kit flung another shovelful of snow out of their small cleared path, Nico would be back from checking the power cells at the opposite end of the compound. They were due for another snowstorm tonight and they would probably not be able to leave to physically check on them again for some days.

They had been here two weeks and Kit had no idea how Nico kept busy, she herself was going crazy with boredom.

Shoveling finished, she returned to the inside of their quarters and shook off her snow covered outer clothes and shuffled into the living room to curl up beneath a blanket. Maybe she could order several new 'net books. Space adventure sounded good, she bent to lift her data pad and began searching for anything good.

It was some time later when Nico returned, shaking off the snow from her body and removing her outer clothes as well, she wandered into the living room and blinked at Kit, "Please tell me you aren't reading anymore of those trashy space adventures."

Kit glanced up unrepentantly, "I, unlike you, require constant stimulation to keep from goin' bonkers Nico. So yes, it is another of 'those trashy space adventures' it comes with art. Wanna see?"

Nico, against her better judgment bent to peer at the art, and promptly turned bright red and started sputtering, "That is *not* art!"

Kit cooed, "Oh yes...yes it is. Quite lovely if I do say so myself."

Nico toppled over the couch to prod Kit, "That, is-- is blatant pornography!"

Kit grinned, "Possibly, but it's still good writing--what?!"

Nico stared at her, unimpressed.

"You are a complete prude!"

"I am not!"

"You are--you're an Immunite! Aren't you supposed to be all...sensual and shocky? I've met your kind before and you are very clearly a prude."

Nico frowned, "I'm also the Padawan to a renowned Jedi councilwoman and an empath. Sex is...complicated for me."

Kit stopped smiling; setting her data pad on the side table she turned to Nico, "How?"

Nico blinked, "Even with the bracer...it's, I connect with people I know casually. I can identify them across the planet just by their force signature. I know where they are down to the millimeter if they're in the temple. And that's with the bracer on full power."

Kit stared, wide eyed, "So...I guess sexual intimacy is much worse?"

Nico nodded, "I...my last Master sheltered me a little, so I guess I am a little wary of it. But mostly it's, well it's supposed to be this big intimate affair but I can't...I couldn't tie myself to a person for only a single night. As much as I would like to."

Kit let her eyes go wider, "That...I...have you talked to anyone else about this?"

Nico nodded, "Adi..I've spoken with her about it; she feels I should wait until I am strong enough to handle that sort of connection."

"Do they fade?"

"A little."

"So...close quarters is the same for me?"

Nico nodded and Kit couldn't help but smile a little.

"Look at it this way, you will never be alone, because you have a Force given gift, any person you care for will always know they are watched over."

Nico blinked, then laughed slightly, "I hadn't thought of it that way."

Kit nodded, "Yep, that is because I am wicked clever." She preened before lifting her data pad, "Now I have to get back to my space adventure, Captain Ripley is about to--"

"I don't want to know this!" Hands in the air, Nico fled the room.

---

Author's Note: Thank you to the totally awesome, randomly anonymous person who emailed me fanart. It was a wonderful way to start the day, as well as everyone who has thus far commented on this. It's been real fun.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

Obi Wan stared at the comm unit set into his wall, he could feasibly send a message to Nico over the Holonet, but he had no idea what he should or would say.

With a deep breath he pressed the record button and tried a slight smile, "Padawan Ca'hal...I, this is Obi Wan Kenobi. I had thought to brighten your stay on Trieron by sending you a message, my Master and I are on forced leave of absence, something about requiring rest before being sent out on our next flurry of dangerous missions."

He paused and glanced down at his hands for a moment before, much softer, "I apologize if my actions before you left... offended or upset you in any way it was not my intention. I had only thought and then I had not thought." He laughed abruptly, "I have no idea how to act around you. I suppose the same can be said for you." he glanced up at the projector recording his image, "I hope the snow has not disappointed you."

---

Nico watched the holocom and then watched it again, letting one hand lift to touch the grainy blue representation of Obi Wan and she shook her head, moving to the wall unit and sitting.

"Padawan Kenobi--I was delighted to find your message for me, do not worry. I was not offended, you are quite right about having no idea how to act around you--I am afraid much of that could be blamed on my former master." She glanced at her door, locating Kit before she continued.

"The snow is beautiful, I think I will volunteer to come back here when the Trieronites need watchers again, although perhaps not with my current partner," Nico made a face at the projector, "Neroon K'Tar is a lovely young woman and I have enjoyed working with her immensely, but her taste in art and literature leaves...much to be desired."

Another pause and she frowned, "I look forward to hearing from you again."

---

Obi Wan laughed, he and Qui Gon had gone on a few missions with Knight K'Tar and her Master before Kit had been knighted, and as he sat to respond to Nico he knew just what he would say.

---

"--leaves much to be desired? I remember a mission with her; she was extremely involved in these 'space adventures' something about a Captain Ripley. The art, if one could call it that, was shocking to say the least, but her Master is Twi'lek. I imagine that has something to do with it."

The image of Obi Wan shifted, and Nico realized he wasn't wearing anything beneath his robe, and the sudden revelation of skin had her blinking owlishly. She had to rewind the holocom to catch what she had missed.

---

"She's still into Captain Ripley, and no--it is indeed *not* art. She showed me some of the holovids; I think I turned so red it looked like I'd been drenched in Shaduva berries." She laughed, shaking her hair free of the ties holding it together.

Obi Wan stared.

"She says hello by the way, and told me to say that if you even think of telling me anything embarrassing she'll give me all the 'dirt' on you." Nico's fingers dug through her hair, twisting the curly mass up off her shoulders and secured it with a narrow stick, leaving the column of her throat and her shoulders bare.

Obi Wan swallowed, Nico leaned back and he realized she had a sleeveless halter shirt tied around her chest, and not much else.

"I started that puzzle you suggested, it's rather interesting, and you were right. It requires one's mind to be completely blank and peaceful, something I am having more difficulty with as the snows grow deeper and Kit cannot run outside to expend her excess energy." Nico released a long suffering sigh and affected the look of someone much put upon.

Obi Wan couldn't stop his abrupt laugh, before jerking as Qui Gon leaned over the back of the couch, "Is that Padawan Ca'hal Obi Wan?"

The hologram of Nico continued talking, Obi Wan nodded, "We've been exchanging holocoms since her mission to Trieron began."

Qui Gon nodded and chuckled, "She appears to be enjoying her stay, and not many Jedi can handle the cold and snow."

"She says she quite likes it, she's even signed the registrar to be assigned there again in coming years. She did say she didn't want another with Kit however."

"Kit, Padawan?"

"Oh--Junior Knight K'Tar was assigned there with her."

Qui Gon laughed low, "Poor child, Knight K'Tar is not known for her ability to sit still for very long."

Obi Wan grinned, "Padawan Ca'hal doesn't complain that much about it, I think she enjoys it to be honest, Kit wasn't raised in this temple and she has a lot of experience with empaths. It must be refreshing for Padawan Ca'hal to not be treated like she's about to have a mental break."

Qui Gon nodded eyes on the hologram, he arched an eyebrow, "She appears to be dressed for bed, and does she usually send messages in such a state of undress Obi Wan?"

The tawny haired young man glanced back to the hologram to see that Nico had gotten up to fetch something, still talking and his jaw dropped a little, she was wearing a pair of impossibly small sleep shorts. The cloth hugging the curves of her body in a manner Obi Wan did not think they were designed for.

He swallowed, "I...uhm..."

Qui Gon laughed and ruffled Obi Wan's hair, "I'll leave you to your messages Padawan." He stood and strode from the room with a knowing grin.

---

Nico finished packing her bags, smiling at Menph as the Trieronite babbled at her and Kit excitedly, not a single problem had occurred during their stay here and the Trieronites were ecstatic to be going back to work. Nico tossed the most recent comm from Obi Wan; she'd watch it on her trip back to Coruscant.

There had been a delay between message from him, and she was sure it was nothing to be worried about, but the slight connection with him emanated worry and some amount of pain. She drew a deep breath and finished packing her things, before shouldering the bag, and smiling.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

As it turned out he and Qui-Gon had been sent to an Outer Rim planet and at the end of the mission Obi Wan had punctured a lung. It was nothing too strenuous or serious but he had been laid up in the Healer's Ward for a few weeks while he healed. More forced bed rest.

Nico dropped her bags in her shared quarters and headed to the council room for debriefing before striding into the infirmary to visit Obi Wan.

He was tucked in a back corner of the room, Bant and Garen seated on one side of the bed, he smiled as she approached.

"Padawan Ca'hal, you look well-rested."

Nico snorted indelicately and Bant grinned.

"If by well-rested do you mean did I follow your advice and use a sleep aid to knock Kit out, then yes Padawan Kenobi, I am indeed very well rested."

Bant stared, "You didn't."

"In my defense, she kept me awake for four days straight because she bought some virtual game and demanded I play with her...it isn't my fault Master Gallia has nurtured something of a competitive streak in me." Nico glanced coquettishly down at Obi Wan who was chuckling.

Garen snickered and chewed on a bandara root stick, "You Padawan Ca'hal are a very strange woman."

Nico grinned and pulled up a seat, before eying Obi Wan seriously, "How did you injure yourself?"

Obi Wan blushed and had the good grace to look embarrassed, Bant crowed with amusement, "He fell down a ravine!"

"Bant!"

"Well it's true...probably showing off for some pretty little tart...our Obi is such a lady's man, he can't help himself! I heard some of the younger Padawans talking about his *hips* the other day! Do you know what they were saying?"

Garen was distractedly stuffing cotton into his ears; Nico arched an eyebrow, "Go on..."

"Bant! I-"

"They mentioned something about 'the sexy generator'."

Nico blinked and Obi Wan scowled balefully at the Mon Calamari doubled over giggling.

"Please tell me you're joking..."

Bant shook her head, "Oh Force I wish I were...imagine that. Kenobi of the slinky hip wiggle and all the girls and boys love it."

Garen tugged some cotton from his ear, "Well...to be fair given who his Master i-"

"That's *enough*! I've heard *plenty* about my Master for *years* I really...don't want to think about him and slinky hips in the same sentence!"

They all quieted for a moment before they all abruptly burst into laughter, and then Bant leaned across the bed, elbows holding her upper body carefully, "So come on Nico...how was Trieron?"

"It was very cold, very white and surprisingly pleasant...I don't understand everyone's aversion to it."

Garen snorted, "Uhm...how about the very cold, and very white? Or maybe it's the ten meters of snow they get a month...?"

"I quite like the cold and the snow."

"Your people grow up in the cold of space...I'm pretty sure you could *skinny dip* in ten meters of snow and be fine."

Nico paused considering, Obi Wan stared at her owlishly before she responded, and "This is probably true. Not that I would *want* to skinny dip in ten meters of snow. It's hardly practical."

Obi Wan stared, "Practical...what part of skinny dipping is practical?"

"Exactly my point Padawan Kenobi."

He laughed and Bant shook her head, "You worry me sometimes Nico. Your head is all...twisty."

"Are you insulting me Bant?" She asked coyly.

"Hardly, just commenting on the turns you make when you're thinking sometimes."

"I'll have you know my twisty brain is downright useful sometimes."

Obi Wan grinned, "Especially when you're hiding Kit's novels."

"Those...things are hardly worth the syllables to be called proper literature. Trashy, tawdry romance at best, cheap and over-dramatized pornography at worst. Why she likes them so much is beyond me."

Garen blinked, "Tawdry...does anyone actually speak like that anymore?"

Nico blinked, "I-"

A Healer peered around a curtain, "Kenobi! Honestly, this isn't the commons you're well enough to scoot back to your quarters, you're disturbing people."

Obi Wan smiled charmingly at the healer melted a little, "Sorry...we'll be on our way...are you sure I'm fine returning to my quarters."

The healer nodded emphatically, "*Yes*! Please...just don't overdue yourself."

He nodded, and after several minutes of fussing, the four of them were wandering back to his and Qui-Gon's quarters.

Nico paused awkwardly outside of them, "I..."

Obi Wan rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around her waist, "Get inside Ca'hal."

---

It was just the sort of thing to happen to them too, they had all wound up staying in Obi Wan's rooms, Nico had sacked out on Obi Wan's bed in a distressing manner, but given how little she must really sleep it was flattering she felt comfortable enough to let her guard down so easily.

Obi Wan, Garen and Bant had continued talking into the late hours of the night before they'd pulled out a cot from the closet and crawled onto it, Obi Wan stood eying the bed for several minutes. Listening to the even breathing of Garen and Bant and debating crawling in beside Nico or going out to the living room and the couch.

The room was lit in the soft, amber half-light of a glow lamp and when Nico shifted and pushed up onto an elbow her eyes looked like molten metal. She held a hand out to him and he slid into the bed beside her.

She moved like liquid up against him, tugging the blanket sup around them and curling into his chest. Her eyelashes cast long shadows over her cheeks and he lifted a hand to touch the tracery of scars over the skin.

Garen let out a long, rumbling snore and the noise tapered off into a steady, low snuffle. Nico blinked and he felt the feathery touch against his cheekbone. Their breath mingling between them, she tilted her head up and he smiled slightly.

"How long was I asleep?" Her voice was whisper soft in the small room.

He lowered his hand to her shoulder, thumb tracing a circle there, "A few hours, you were pretty tired." He shifted beneath the blanket, hips rolling until he had one leg twisted with hers.

"I guess so...I don't usually just--"

"Fall asleep?"

She nodded minutely, her eyes impossibly wide in the half light. Her fingers tightened against his chest and slid down until one hand had curved over the ridge of his hip. She swallowed.

"It's all right...the rest of us just drew on your face a little bit and talked."

"I hope you didn't draw anything unflattering."

He grinned, "Just the usual."

"Lewd comments about my breasts?"

He could feel the heat of her blush against his face and he nodded, wetting his lips slightly, "Mm...Yes."

She swallowed again and nodded, "Well...I suppose it could have been worse." She shifted until she was leaning back and he was pressing over her slightly, more comfortably and her hair fanned out about her over the pillow, dusky gold and scented heavily. He was sure the fabric would hold that scent for days.

"I'm going to kiss you Nico...if that's all right."

She drew in a sharp breath, but nodded, "That's...that's fine..."

He bent down, drawing his mouth across hers gently, she tasted like sleep and citrus and a little like toothpaste and he found himself deepening the kiss without meaning too. Lips melding to her, shaping them to his. Teeth drawing out gently across her bottom lip even as his tongue traced out over the seam of her mouth and then pressed inward in a single, smooth flick.

Her fingers tightened over his hip and she moved against him, limbs moving languidly to readjust to the pressure of his weight, and his hand curled through her hair and cupped the back of her head, tilting it before he was deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, touching the ridge of her teeth, tickling the roof of her mouth before twining with her tongue.

She let out a muffled, desperate noise and trembled against him, and he rocked against her, braced between the juncture of the bed and her thigh. Her pelvis tilted upward and he took his mouth from hers and pressed it to her throat. Her fingers found his hair and she moaned.

Garen's muffled snort drew them apart abruptly and they turned to eye the lump of bodies on the cot spread across the floor beside their bed.

He grinned down at Nico and kissed her softly on the mouth before shifting onto his back and pulling her to his chest. Another tremble shook her body as she relaxed and he couldn't help but to feel a little smug.

This unshakeable, undeniably beautiful, fractured woman was unequivocally his. At least for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

The next morning Nico was surprised to wake up with the sun beating down warm on her back, Obi-Wan's arm snug around her waist and his face pressed to her collarbone. The sensation was at once singularly unusual, and keeny pleasant. She lifted a hand to rub it over the soft fuzz of his hair, figners twisting through his padawan braid affectionately, before she extricated herself from his arms and shifted off the bed, careful to not wake him.

He shifted on the bed, but did not stir and she she cast one final glance back at him and stood, stretching out the kinks in her back, surprised at how long and easily she had slept, before hse fixed her tunics and slunk out of the bedroom. Bant and Garen were sitting at the table in the small kitchenette, Qui-Gon leaning against the counter with a steaming mug of tea cupped in his hands, he smiled as she wandered into the kitchen rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"You look well rested," He said softly.

Nico glanced at him and finally seemed to realize they were all staring at her, she flushed darkly, "Yes...I am I suppose."

Bant grinned at her, "Mhm, I'll just bet you are well rested."

Nico blushed furiously, Garen finally glance dup from his food and blinked, "Oh..yer awake...s'Obi-Wan gettin' up soon?"

A shuffling behind her and then Bant's grin split into a wide smile, Obi-Wan draped an arm around Nico's waist and she shifted awkwardly against him, turning, "Did I wake you?"

He pressed a kiss to her mouth and shook his head, "No, my Master did." he shot a look Qui-Gon's way. The elder Jedi blinked innocently at the tawny haired youth and went back to sipping his tea.

Nico moved away from him, glancing away shyly before straddling a chair and stealing one of Garen's muffins. He looked askance at her, eyes narrowed, before shrugging and stuffing another bit of muffin into his mouth. Obi-Wan laughed and took a seat beside her, stealing a bite of her stolen muffin.

Bant smirked coyly, "So did you sleep well Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan glanced up at her, blinked twice then nodded, "Like a baby in the creche Bant."

Bant laughed, and Nico focused on her muffin awkwardly.

---

That was the beginning of the end, for them at least. He would come to her quarters and steal her away for a few hours or a night when he and Qui-Gon were on Coruscant, and they would spend those hours talking or touching, and when they parted ways it was with gentle smiles.

It passed like that for years.

---

When the news arrived that Qui-Gon was dead she froze in place, kneeling comfortably beside her Master in the council chamber, her eyes enormous in her face. Qui-Gon was dead? But that had to be impossible, they had only just seen him some days prior, he'd fought with the council over a young boy, Qui-Gon couldn't be dead.

She remembered his first calm conversations with her, his subtle reassurances and soothing mind touches, he was a good man, it was a sad day for the Order then, to have lost such a skilled Jedi Master.

When the session came to an end, her master drew her aside and pulled her into a hug, Adi smiled and stroked Nico's hair, "Obi-Wan will be fine Padawan...it will be a trying enough time for him, you must be there for him without being there for him."

Nico frowned, "What do you mean master? You cannot..be there for someone without...//being// there..."

Adi smiled gently, "Trust me Padawan...you will see."

But Nico did not see, she was sent on a solitary mission to a planet on the Outer Rim before Obi-Wan had returned. The mission was a prelude to a series of more difficult diplomatic missions that would determine the extent of her Knight trials, and so, it was nearly two years before she finally returned to Coruscant for her official ceremony.

She did not see Obi-Wan at the temple, and could feel no trace of his passing recently through the halls, and so she went to her quarters and smiled at her Master. Adi was seated comfortably at the table, "Padawan...nay...Knight Ca'hal..." Her lips spread into a grin, "I don't think I ever thought this day would come Nico...though I must say I looked forward to it every day of your training."

Nico grinned crookedly and sat beside Adi, "Does this mean I'm no longer required to sit in on Council sessions Master?"

Adi snorted, "Hardly, two of our senior councilors plan on retiring from the council and spending their end days teaching and taking care of the crechelings."

Nico frowned, "What..exactly does that mean?"

Adi smiled as she replied, "You were apprenticed to a council member Nico...that means you will continue sitting in on council sessions between missions until a position opens for you to take over."

Nico gaped, "But...that...why?"

"You are a singularly diplomatic person Nico...a skilled Knight in spite of your...peculiar disabilities. You do not need to exhert yourself over others to make them see reason. This is a trait sought after in Jedi, and one that will be useful when you take your place on the council."

The russet haired Knight nodded, "So I will one day be seated beside you master?"

"As an equal my child. As an equal."

"I must admit Master...that is something of a daunting prospect..."

Adi leaned forward and tugged on a lock of Nico's hair affectionately, "No less daunting than it was for me when I took a place beside my old Master."

"And will one day be much the same for my own apprentice?"

"Should you choose to take a padawan, yes Nico..."

Nico smiled and relaxed into the chair, "I think I like the prospect Master..."

Adi laughed, a low delighted sound, "I have no doubt of that Nico." ---

Time unraveled after that, Nico took a Padawan two years later, several months prior to one of the councilmen, a Twi'Lek by the name of Ka'dra Me'lna passed on.

The apprentice she took was a Telosian by the name of Kanande' Briit, a sly young man with a quick silver tongue.

Kanande' was fourteen when he finally met the Jedi Master whose picture Nico kept on the mantle in their shared quarters. he had to admit, he was impressed.

He was kneeling beside his Master in the council chambers when Master Kenobi strode into the room, peace, and trie irritation emanating from him. (He was empathic, much like his Master though thankfully to a considerably lesser degree). The young man who stalked in after Kenobi was...

//Padawan...you should shield yourself better. I think you might give Master Yoda a heart attack with thoughts like those.//

Kanande' felt his cheeks flushing and he bowed his head demurely to hide the evidence, casting a sidelong glance at his Master.

He knew, from a certain perspective that his Master was quite attractive herself, she carried herself with a quiet, subsuming sort of confidence, her face often peaceful if distressingly blank. In the two years he had known her as his Master he had seen her smile only a handful of times, only small quirks of the mouth.

He only noticed them of course, because he spent every moment with her save for when they slept. So it was startling, that when she greeted Master Kenobi, her lips spread into a wide, crooked smile.

He glanced up, and realized he was not the only one showing some form of startlement over his Master's behavior.

Nico beckoned Anakin to her, and when the young man knelt in front of her she leaned forward to murmur conspiratorially in his ear. Afterward they finished exchanging pleasantries and Kenobi gave her their mission report, as well as a condensed version of the political standing on some planet in the middle rim.

They left shortly thereafter, and when council was called to a halt for the day he followed his Master through the twisting corridor's to a set of rooms he'd never been before. It should not have surprised him that Anakin opened the door, or that the youth was grinning widely at the two of them.

Anakin dragged Kanande' out, "C'mon, Master says I can take one of the speeders out as long as I don't get into trouble." The way he said it made it sound as if he was always causing trouble. Kanande' hesitated.

Anakin froze in the hall and turned, "What?"

"My master..is..will she?"

"Councilor Ca'hall? I imagine so..my master says they go way back, he seemed excited to see her.." Anakin blanched, made a yuck face, "C'mon!"

"If we must, but you will not be breaking any laws or violating any speeding tenets, understand?"

"Paa, fine."

---

"Unless we're out of the residential district." Kanande' added with a sly smile. They were young, Kanande' had only been a few years younger than Anakin, which had surprised the other Padawan, but they got along famously, much to his Master's consternation and deep affection. He was not fond of her spending so much of her free time with this...Kenobi fellow.

Except, she smiled //all// the time, and he liked it. He liked how much easier it was to get her to laugh, and tell him jokes, or regale him and Anakin with tales of Kenobi's younger years, (much to the tawny haired master's consternation).

He and Anakin got along well to boot, so he supposed he could deign to allow his Master her fun.

//Deign to...Padawan...your thoughts frequently disturb and distress me.//

//What do you mean by that?//

//You think like a tawdry romance novel.//

Kanande' visibly sputtered.

Judging by the amused, smug look on his Master's face, this amused her greatly.


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

Nico and Kanande' were off planet, touring a small abandoned temple on the far reaches of the Outer Rim, when the news reached them about Coruscant.

Kanande' had never seen his Master cry, and he realized, he never wanted to see it again.

Anakin was twenty, Kanande' was only sixteen.

They decided to stay at the temple, Nico filled with a quiet, fiercely tamped down mourning, they had had no contact with Master Kenobi.

Nico quietly and efficiently contacted every temple she could, and what ones were left standing as the days passed, fled to the temple on the Outer reaches of the Galaxy. In the end only four hundred managed to inhabit the halls, and the dense atmosphere planet was a quiet boon to them.

Much like Dagobah, this tiny little planet thrived with the Living Force, and keenly masked the signature of the hundreds of Force capable beings inhabiting it's desert surface.

The planet had five suns, what was actually a single sun that had hemoraged hundreds of thousands of years prior and split into five pieces. At anytime the two smaller suns, less bright and neatly, slowly dying, were in the vivid violet sky. At night, the planet's three moons rose. The moons were a binary star, orbiting one another, but so close to the planet that they were easily distinguishable from one another.

It was unbearably hot in the day, and only marginally cooler at night, but the temple was made of some ancient, smooth white stone material. It was always cooler inside than not.

In spite of the extreme heat, it was easy over the years to cultivate gardens inside the temple, several of the young knights, some of whom who had lost their Padawans', found a room with a wide clear ceiling. Some remnant from a time where clear plasteel and plasma shielding did not exist.

It was sturdy, and warmed in the sun, tinted and reflected back the light outside. A great black dome that absorbed the energies of the many suns and powered the entirety of the temple.

Water was drawn from a vast underground ocean.

The initiates named the planet Arhksune.

---

The older Masters who eventually formed the Council for the temple kept a series of contacts with the outside world, taking in offworlders only occasionally, it was difficult to descend through Arhksune's atmosphere without a Force sensitive guiding it, and being so far out of the way, most did not wish to bother.

But what they learned of the ensuing war in the outside world shocked, and distressed many.

Jedi were still sent off world, though discreetly, many in the galaxy still required the assistance of the Jedi, but as the years passed, their numbers thinned.

---

Nico recieved a handful of messages from Obi-Wan over the next three years, the transmissions coming fewer and more far between until finally they stopped altogether.

It was in total sixteen years later that she recieved an urgent message, a ship had arrived, badly damaged and some distance from their planet. A young man with bright eyes and a Correlian accent requested they be allowed to land.

Nico waved her hand, "I shall have one of our navigators send coordinates and instructions on how to descend our atmosphere."

She could feel the presence of two strong with the Force, firmly entranched in the gentle, gold Light of it.

It had been years, but she recognized the ebb and flow of one of them, and she could hardly contain her hope.

She rose and relayed the message to one of the intitiates, a young boy whose name noone could pronounce, and whose vibrant purple skin and sweet demeanor endeared him to all.

He was also the swiftest runner, and while Nico *could* have simply sent a databurst, it was good to give the children things to fill their free hours with.

The ship descended and when it had finally docked in the small hangar the temple boasted Nico, her second Padawan, (a slight figured, fifteen year old called Hestia) and well as several Jedi stood waiting.

Hestia eyed the ship, and then the Corellian who identified himself as Captain Han Solo.

The humanoid snorted, "I can't believe that hunk of junk actually made it through atmo."

The second human to leave the ship was trailed by a large, furry Wookie. Hestia had only ever seen Wookies in the holovids in one of his classes, so he knew he was gaping a little.

And then Nico was making a noise that sounded much like a gasp, and then his Master did something he had never seen her do.

His dignified, regal master flung herself at the oldest humanoid, her robes a flurry fo brown and beige around her, and she laughed with true joy.

Hestia couldn't decide if he wanted to be outraged, shocked, or overjoyed. His Master smiling was a beautiful thing to behold. (Even if she was old enough to be his grandmother).

"Obi-Wan! I had thought you were--"

"I apologize for being unable to send further missives Nico but--"

"Nono! It's quite all right I only just thought--"

The youngest finally broke in, "Uhm, I hate to break up the love party, but we're all tired and dirty and I think Chewbacca has to pee or something..."

Hestia later learned this young man was called Luke, and the old Jedi was a master, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Hestia knew that name quite well, he remembered when he was younger, how Kanande' sometimes talked of him. He wondered if his predecessor would whoop for joy at the return of the Jedi, or possibly shoot him.

---

Hestia quite liked Luke, the youth was a few years older than he, and unbearably whiny; but he seemed to have a good heart. And though the kid didn't have the years of training that Hestia did, the humanoid couldn't begrudge the other any respect. He was a quick learner and a hard worker.

Plus, he didn't mind getting his butt whooped at saber practice.

He twisted and spun through the air, the familiar hum of his saber a calm weight in the air.

Luke had a long way to go before he moved with the sort of grace Hestia did, but hestia was prepared to teach him anything he could, "Anyway--then my Master turns to the Hutt and says 'You misunderstand, this child is not my apprentice. He is my slave--he fetches me drinks and rubs my feet.'"

Hestia snickered as he finished the tale and struck his saber to the nape of Luke's neck, "Suffice it to say the Hutt was unconvinced and I spent the next four days in a leather bridle fetching Master water and rubbing her feet."

His lightsaber hummed off and he drew back, swiping sweat from his eyes and Luke straightened, "That's incredible...I'd thought well..I was told the Jedi were all long since dead."

Hestia tensed and nodded his head slightly, "This temple is all that's really left. We get by, but we have to be careful, if the New Republic discovered our existence.." he blanched, "My master has worked very hard to keep us a secret..."

"A time will come when we can come out of hiding Hestia." Luke touched the others chin with a gentleness that his brash and rough demeanor had not hinted at.

Hestia felt himself flush, "What will you do?"

"Restore the temples to their former glory. The Republic cannot keep us down forever, the Galaxy needs a force to guide it, and the Jedi are that Force."

"You make terrible puns."

"Will you be there with me Hestia?"

The Padawan froze, "I..what do you mean?"

Luke grinned, "I mean how it sounds."

Hestia glanced down, "It is..not strictly forbidden for Jedi to...but it is.."

"Difficult?"

"Yes..."

"Then we will find a way," He reignited his saber, "Now c'mon, best two out of three."


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Somewhere Never Have I Traveled

Author: Audrey Layne

Disclaimer: I do not own SW, nor do I make any form of profit wherewithal in correlation to the intellectual and copyright properties of Lucas productions. I just have fun with'em.

Summary: When they met...

Author Notes: Romantic claptrap disguised as a space adventure...

___---___---___

But they left Arhksune, and though his Master stopped laughing and smiling, her eyes were lighter and she joked more easily, prodding Hestia with the cane she had taken to using. "Come along Padawan, slow yourself. I am not a spry young woman anymore."

"Master, you're hardly old."

"I'm hardly young either Padawan."

Hestia snorted, but slowed his pace, "You will be around for years yet Master."

But Nico did not respond, only smiled at him, the slightest upturn of her mouth, a thin crooked line. Mysterious as much as it was intriguing. Hestia wondered if it was this beguiling smile that had won over the Jedi Kenobi.

---

Nico died in her sleep a year and a half later, curled on one side around a pillow, wrapped in a robe that was far too large on her frame, her hair unbound and bright about her. A single holovid flickering beside her on the mattress.

It took another year for Luke to return to Arhksune, and by then Hestia had had no choice but to take over his master's duties. He knew he was not ready for Knighthood, but he could not resume his teachings without an appropriate instructor.

He greeted Luke and Han in the hangar, a dozen children milling about and playing excitedly, this would be the first of what would become a dozen visits. The temple on Arhksune would remain, but he knew Luke wished for them to be removed to the temple on Coruscant.

They had gathered in his Master's sleeping rooms to clear it out, take with them the things that would be put into the Archives on Coruscant when they happened upon three trunks.

They were made of a thick, wooden material, unusual in an age where such things were created from artificial materials.

Luke touched one of the trunks reverently, "This wood was cut from a tree on Dagobah."

"Dagobah?"

Luke glanced up, "My Grandmaster, Yoda, lived on Dagobah."

Hestia blinked in surprise, "Oh..."

They both dropped to the floor, "These trunks belonged to my Master, " Hestia whispered, reverently touching the lock on one of the trunks, "I've never seen them before though."

Luke tugged Hestia close to him, "Should we open them do you think?"

Hestia paused, "I think..." He closed his eyes, and let out a breath and then his lips quirked in an enigmatic half smile, "Yes, lets open them."

Hestia had been expecting books, maybe histories or texts, what he found in the first trunk were clothes, many in bright colors, with vibrant, vivacious patterns and in materials too soft and luxurious for them to have been anything but gifts. He found amidst them, a holopad and with the flick of his thumb switched it on.

An image flickered to life of a young man, barely in his twenties with a long braid trailing down his shoulders, he spoke with a soft inflection and his eyes were smiling, "Nico--yes, I know it is inappropriate gift, but I couldn't help myself. You are beautiful in browns...but the blue shimmer silk will look delightful with your eyes. Wear it for me?"

The holo flickered off and both Luke and Hestia shared a look before Luke spoke, "Holy...that was my Master..."

"And he sent it to mine...Luke..open another trunk."

The second trunk revealed dozens of holopads and datacrystals, all neatly dated and labeled and shuffled into containers, the first of them contained a very young looking Nico, obviously new in her apprentice ship, relaying something to a man she called Quetz'Et'al.

The messages varied, and then they happened upon more, conversations between Nico and Obi-Wan, between a Mon Calamari called Bant, a tall man with leonine features who was called Qui-Gon.

A soft tempered woman Nico later addressed as Master or Adi.

The more Hestia learned of his Master the more in awe of her he grew; his Master had been an influential woman to have touched and recorded so many lives.

The final trunk revealed several sets of robes, too large for her, but they were not hers, Luke said they had belonged to his Master, that the Force signature on them was old, but they were indeed his. Buried deeper was a lightsaber nestled amongst robes even larger, as well as several still holos. Photographs of Nico and Obi-Wan, and this Qui-Gon fellow.

At the very bottom, was a small metal bracer, similar to the one his Master had worn all throughout his own life, beside it a single handwritten letter on real paper settled atop another still holo.

The vid was a silhouette, old with age, barely recognizable as two teenagers caught in a shy embrace.

Hestia slid a hand over the paper, before replacing the robes and the lightsaber and sealing the trunk.

Luke was leaning back against the foot of the bed, "Do you suppose they were in love?"

Hestia leaned against him, "Probably...Kanande', my Master's first Padawan used to tell me stories about Obi-Wan, and his apprentice."

"What did he tell you?"

"That she always smiled when Obi-Wan was around. That she laughed more easily, and they touched all the time."

"Ew."

"Not like that you bantha turd! Like...holding hands and kissing cheeks. Kanande' said they were never you know..."

"Having sex?"

"I guess so."

"Do you know why?"

"Luke...I can barely reconcile that girl in the holos to the stern woman that was my Master, do you really think I can imagine her having sex?"

"Point! Still...it isn't exactly against the rules is it?"

"For Jedi to have sex? No, not even to be in love. From what I've read it wasn't very common: a Jedi's life is a hard one, it is difficult to maintain relationships... plus I'm pretty sure your Master was a Councilor...that must have made it harder."

"Theirs was a romantic love, full of stolen moments then."

"Force...your a romantic aren't you?"

"Yes."

Luke snorted and ruffled Hestia' hair, "C'mon, we'll keep the trunks in our quarters on Coruscant...I don't think these should be put in the Archives...they're too personal."

Hestia stood and stretched his back out, "When you pass on into the Force..do you think you meet your loved ones there?"

Luke grinned, and nodded firmly, "I know you do."

"How?"

He only grinned wider, "Just trust me."

Hestia nodded, bent to lock the trunk then paused, reopened it and retrieved the holo of Nico and Obi-Wan, "Do you think they're happy now?"

"I don't think. I know."

"Now who's the romantic?"

"Quiet and finish getting packed, we have a long journey ahead of us."

~End~

Author Notes: This is the final installment, for everyone who followed along on the ride, thanks for putting up with my erratic posting. I hope you enjoyed it. The ending of this was particularly hard because I had about a dozen different ideas on how I iwanted/i it to end. But they all sort of...conflicted with how it really needed to end. The original chapter had Obi-Wan returning to Arhksune. But I wanted to maintain some canonical integrity and however much I like happy endings this is about as happy as it can be made.

I can say with all honesty that this has been a lot of fun, and you should probably expect more Star Wars from me, but I don't know that I'll do anything further with this storyline; the idea I've got in the works takes place some twenty years after Luke's passing and deals witht he repercussions of his own training as well as his training style. (For anyone who followed iany/i of the books you'll know he was more of a fight first ask questions later sort of guy in his early years as a Jedi master and slowly evolved into the more calm, serene, traditional jedi in his later years).

Anyways, feel free to comment or review!!

Audrey


	10. Author Notes

This is a not so brief afterword to explain some things. This is partially Meta and partially just me blathering on so that possibly some of the things I wrote will make more sense.

I started writing _Somewhere Never Have I Traveled_ back in November of 2008. I got about twenty pages into it and lost interest, before picking it back up again in March of 2009. I went through three beta readers before I found one who could stand to listen to me talk about what I _wanted_ to do and what I _needed _to do before telling me that the story was just fine and to just finish writing the damn thing already.

I didn't expect SNhIT to turn out to be so long, (14K+ words is a lot for me trust me). It was the first semi-novel length piece of fiction I ever attempted and finished. I'm proud of that. But I am really unhappy with the ending.

See, I like _happy_ endings. I like everything tied up in nice neat little bows, with cards and arrows saying 'this is how it ends: see it worked out fine', except obviously that couldn't happen because that's not how it _needed_ to happen.

I wanted to make sense of what was said in both the movies and the books. (And god, don't get me started on the forty bazillion trillion Star Wars books that exist in the Universe because it'll break my brain). SNhIT is based loosely around the Jedi Apprentice novels, some other miscellaneous novels written by various authors, but also predominantly the movies.

See; it just didn't make sense in my head that Jedi would condemn each other for something as silly as falling in love: I get _why_ it would be complicated but I needed _reasons_.

Out of that Nico sort of...took shape. (What actually happened was the beginning of 2008 I was in a Star Wars role-play for a few brief months and her character took shape and I met a very nice chap who played a canon Obi Wan and we spent a lot of time discussing the hows and whys of a relationship between two Jedi).

I could have written the story entirely with OCs, and let's be frank, I'm fairly sure it throws a lot of readers when they click something and right there it says that a Canon character is paired off with an OFC.

Nico isn't really _meant_ to be particularly likeable. She's a limbo character, an amalgamation of the qualities and traits I felt would first and foremost attract Obi-Wan Kenobi as a person, and then I thought long and hard about what he would find attractive.

The human psyche is a crazy place and I thought, well…this is Star Wars stranger things than women with crazy psychic abilities have happened.

It's obviously not a typical love story; I really kind of detest the love at first sight cliché (this isn't to say it can't or doesn't happen, but Kenobi is far too cynical a character to allow himself to fall into such trappings).

It boiled down to this—Kenobi _could_ fall in love; but it would be complicated. In any of the fiction, he's never been a character to get caught up in personal emotions. (Anyone familiar with the JA novels is probably immediately thinking of Melida/Daan and let me just say that that, was an entirely different set of circumstances).

This is all just a roundabout way of saying that they're _Jedi_. That should explain it all. Their first priority is the balance of the force and you know...protecting people from their own stupidity. Relationships are complicated enough without throwing in hormones and anything else into the mix.

Except really, it never _made sense_ that this entire society of people could exist in times where being a Prostitute was not only a socially acceptable profession, but one people willingly chose and _enjoyed_.

So I contested a lot of the movies because modern society (as we stand here in the USA) is obviously not going to accept that a society of people who live like monks, are okay with sex, or relationships or you know…'feelings'.

That irritated me, and I could dissect the many, wide and varied things that went _wrong_ with the final Star Wars movies, but everyone _knows_ that Anakin went evil because a self-fulfilling prophecy and because Obi-Wan was _clearly_ not really cut out for being his Master. (Even if he _did_ try).

So I tinkered with it; I made a _lot_ of assumptions based off what I'd read and what I'd seen in the films and I made the assumption that really; we had it wrong. It isn't that it wasn't _not_ okay for Anakin to marry the Queen, or for that matter to even be in a relationship with her, but it just wasn't _done_.

How would a Jedi handle political affairs, 'Oh yeah...by the way my wife is the former Queen', can you say awkward much?

I think, a lot of what happened just boiled down to people's general stupidity and inability to communicate: Jedi are _trained_ to know humans. They're meant to read body language and facial expressions. It's what makes them so good at what they do.

You can't leave out something as fundamental as sex and sexuality and expect a person to be good at their job. (Because also: I would imagine that would cause a _lot_ of political scandal if say Qui-Gon was propositioned and he _didn't_ know it. Because…well its Qui-Gon and he's the proclaimed rebel of the order. Can you really see him _not knowing_ he was being propositioned?).

But; I digress. I wanted to make sense of all that information, all this….this stuff that canon gives you and just expects you to accept without ever really...explaining it.

It was a tall order to fill, even for myself. But I didn't seem to find any fiction that explained it the way it worked in my brain so I wrote it; and therein lay the problem. See I'd never written anything longer than about 2000 words and most of it was kind of crap anyways.

So it took a while, but Nico was this…half-formed creature in my head and really her face was more haunting and inspiring for me than it probably was for Obi-Wan. (I kept getting stuck on these like…scenes where she and Obi-Wan would be talking except all Obi-Wan could focus on was like...her mouth or a ribbon she wore in her hair), and trust me..That was probably more distracting than anything else.

So I wrote, and I rewrote and I frantically IMed and emailed my beta and flailed hysterically because I didn't think _anything_ I was writing made any sort of logical sense, and to make matters worse there was this story playing out in my head like a movie that _needed_ writing.

The worst bit of course was when I realized that there were gaps in the story. The time shifts are frequent and I mean…sometimes I'd be writing about Nico at fifteen and suddenly there she'd be in my brain at twenty-two being appropriately amused and smug all at once.

Worse than that however was that I had to make all of it fit with the time frame from the films and the literature. And yes I took a bit of creative license, but it's fan-fiction that's what you do.

As for the rest, well trust me I have the alternate ending all written up where Obi-Wan comes back and they live happily ever after except…really not because they'd never get a moments peace between Luke _or_ Hestia and I couldn't have that. But it's there, half written between the paragraphs just sort of waiting for interpretation, I was tempted to delete it when I finished posting the last chapter because I get too easily tempted with happy endings. But I was afraid if I deleted it I'd feel the need to delete all the scenes I wound up cutting out of SNhIT because they didn't fit with the flow.

Those ones I might actually post because some of them are amusing, but right now I'm working on writing the sequel to _Somewhere Never have I Traveled_.

It's called _Things We Cannot Change (or The Road Not Taken)_. It is less of a romance more of...adventure/coming of age/dealing with the after effects of a lifetime of _trauma_. And even better! It has Hestia and Luke who both completely and totally _ate my freaking brain_ at the end of SNhIT (to wit: it was something along the line of like...thirty IMs from people I'd spammed all screaming at me that I needed to write more Hestia).

Except…really TWCC is set a good fifty years after the end of SNhIT and Hestia is in like…his sixties. But there is Luke and there are new OCs and there is a lot of tie-in to SNhIT because I like beating dead horses apparently.

I think, next to Nico I liked Hestia best. (Kanande' Briit is going to be one of those prolific characters that gets written about and _is_ important but just…isn't ever featured in fiction like…ever).

But Hestia knew the Nico that Obi-Wan was in love with, the one who wasn't all dark, shy and broken, Hestia got the Nico who could make jokes and laugh and who could really kick ass when she needed too.

Because the Nico Obi-Wan fell in love with is…well..actually no I won't say that because that's actually going to be a filler chapter until I post up the first bits of the sequel.

Anyways…I don't really think this afterword said anything I really wanted to say but I should probably stop writing before I confuse anybody even further.


End file.
